"Don't you feel so fresh and light?"

A mix between a grunt and sneeze rises throughout the bathroom as I sit on the floor cross legged. With a plush soft towel wrapped around my body and my wet hair down my back, I grin at the green eyes glaring at me from the drop in the floor.

The bathroom I was given was absolutely beautiful and I had to stop myself from pocketing a few things after realisng they were plated in gold.

The best about the marble tiled room was the shower. The dark grey granite dipped into the bottom of the floor, smack dab in the centre like a roman bath of old.

"It's like the ones we saw at the Thermae of Nikos," I muse as I think back to the hot springs a far away walk from where. The springs were covered underneath a sleuth of flora, almost as if trying to keep nosy people away from them.

"That was just a year before mother chopped off her head," A giggle slips past my lips as I lean forward, rubbing my Kitsune's wet mop of fur out of his eyes.

My familiar isn't the happiest as I massage the shampoo into his fur, tail dropped low and eyes narrowed as he cusses me out deep into my head. No proper words fall between us but we share a bond in which we can feel exactly what the other feels.

"You smell of lavender. All the other vixen's will be after your tail. Then you can sniff each other's butts to your heart's content."

The grunt's cease immediately at my words and I let out another laugh, bopping his soft nose before resuming his much needed scrub. I don't comment on the water turning a murky colour because he didn't say a word when the same happened to me.

We'd probably strangle each other if my familiar had opposable thumbs.

The bath doesn't take long and my familiar loves the hairdryer, a luxury we didn't have much of during our travels. With fur and hair alike fluffed up, I slip into a long white gown. The fabric is soft against my skin and falls in neat waves against my body, draping down till it touches the floor. With large bell sleeves and a lace up bust, I look into the mirror and frown at the sight.

I almost don't like the fabric against my skin, craving my old weathered down tattered dress that was immediately disposed of by a chatty maid.

A knock on my door tears me out of my perusal. Opening the door after making sure my familiar is decent, i.e. not licking his genitals with his legs sprawled out, I come face to face with Rui, I think her name is.
"Althea, I'm glad you've tidied up. Do you like your dress?"

"It's too comfortable."

The woman blinks at my words before letting out a confused laugh.

"I'll try to get you something less comfortable, next time?" She questions softly, eyes darting to my fox who wanders out the room.

"That would be great," I beam at the prospect, tugging at the luxurious fabric in disdain.

"Uhuh. Well, I just came to fetch you for dinner. I thought it'd be better to come get you myself. Make you feel more at ease."

Her pale skin brightens as she flashes me a perfect smile.

"Yes, thank you. Rui," I throw what I think is her name at the end and after seeing no confusion or her trying to correct me, I decide that must actually be her name then.

The both of us make our way down the endless corridors, something I don't bother remembering this time around either since I know my Familiar can sniff around and help me out.

Rui makes amicable chit chat as we walk to what she called the grand dining room. I find her company enjoyable since I can tell she's not putting up a facade and tells me things as they are, no sugar coating.

With that, a thought slithers its way into my mind. Watching her out of the corner of my mind, two questions linger on the top of my tongue.

One question is what my mind tells me to ask her. She is a high ranking official. Rui will know what to expect. Be sensible.

The other question is what my heart whispers at me. The hushed voices raising louder and louder in my head till they shut out the sensible part of me.

"Rui. I do have a question," I set out rather awkwardly, tentatively.

Rui turns to me in surprise, edging me on forward since I've merely been listening and not asking much.

"The group that came to get me was rather large. There was the King, your mate, two warriors, your second in command and then..." I observe the way she brightens at her mate's mention before she recognises what I'm trying to say, nodding as if in understanding.
"Ah yes. That was Kier. Or you might have heard them call him 'Wolf.' Either way, I guess. He doesn't speak much."

"Kier," I taste the name out on my tongue and disappointment almost floods through me when no sense of awareness or anything else really floods through me.

The name sounds like an empty shell. Void of life.

"Who exactly is it?" I mumble mostly to myself. Still upset that his words didn't raise any sort of emotion within me.

Rui lets out a charming laugh, a bit louder than her usual quiet voice.

"Ignore him if he said or did something weird. My brother is a bit... much at times."

The revelation peaks my interest as I peruse her features, trying to assemble what a male version of her would look like.

"He is your brother?"

"Yes. He doesn't talk much even with me. Never has really but he is rather odd. In an adorable way. Don't mind him."

A few moments of silence lapse between us once again before I hesitantly ask another question, not wanting to offend the woman.

"I hope you don't mind but I wanted to ask; Are you ethnically from here?" Floundering slightly, I gesture to myself in a rush as to lessen the ignorance of my words, "It's just, I'm not from here myself either. I always asked my mother to tell me more but she was too busy trying to strangle me at the best of times."

Rui pauses momentarily, reaching out to touch me before stopping. She looks intrigued but also wary.

"Maybe we can figure it out. Finding out our ancestry is important to us wolves. As for Kier and I, our ancestors came from the other realm. My forefathers came from a small country named Japan. I've only been there once or twice but my great great grandfather was an advisor to one of the emperors of the Yamato Dynasty before he fled here in fear of being persecuted."

Japan.

"I cannot say I have heard of it. Although I haven't heard of much other than Tenebris," Rui's smile softens at my words and she throws an arm around my shoulder.
"We can always get the Head Mage to determine your ancestry if you'd like."

"That would be nice," I answer in return.

Maybe I can find some other relatives. Maybe from my father's side since my mother bonked all her side on the head.

*******

Dinner is an awkward affair. 

The King and Queen didn't join us but they probably had other things on their mind, especially when Rui and I caught Queen Fie lodged up on a wall with King Malleus looking more than eager to keep her there.

Entering the main dining hall, I take in Ezra who squirms uncomfortably on his seat, glancing here and there. His ceaseless movements stop immediately as he takes in the air, head snapping to focus on his mate right beside me.

The large smile that takes over his face causes a warmth to flutter in my heart, the mere feeling making me frown in agitation.

The other people in the room consist of Asha who eyes me warily along with the two warriors who accompanied me. Asha's mate is nowhere to be seen.

"Come sit. Dinner is about to be served," Asha speaks up as she flourishes her hand, motioning for me to sit beside her. Rui goes to sit next to Ezra, right in front of me while I sit in my designated seat.

"We didn't get a chance to formally introduce ourselves. We're Queen Fie's personal warriors. I am Brutus and this is William."

I nod my head in greeting, not bothering to tell them my name since they definitely know what is happening better than I do.

The rest of the dinner isn't too bad. Considering the fact that Ezra is too busy making gooey eyes at Rui and Asha tries to discreetly get information out of me.

The first course goes without a hitch, some sort of creamy soup that I inhaled without a second thought.

By the time I'm at the bottom of my bowl of soup, I start to get agitated once more. A notable lack of presence makes me wonder where the hell that person is. I wanted to delve deeper into the shrouded personality.

Glancing at Rui, I assess my options.

Just relax and sly around it. Don't be too obvious.

"Where is your brother? Will he not be joining us?"

My words come out blunt and to the point, not in the slightest how I hoped it would come out.

Way to not be obvious.

I ignore the wayward looks directed my way, focusing on Rui instead who pauses with a spoon full of soup halfway to her mouth. With ruffled brows, she looks around the room only as if now noticing her brother missing.

"He must have ditched dinner. He's not the most sociable," She says without much thought, lifting a delicate shoulder in a one sided shrug.

Everyone resumes their chit chat but Asha keeps looking at me. It's only when I glance her way does she shake her head, a soft smile gracing her lips before she resumes eating.

The side door opens up a few minutes later with the staff holding steaming plates of food. The other few staff members clear our bowls before depositing the food in front of us.

It looks like some kind of meat. I don't remember the last time I was awarded such a luxury.

Just as the door is about to shut onto the last staff member, a familiar fox trots its way through, catching everyone's attention as he makes his way slowly towards me.

"I wonder if the cook made fox meat," Ezra says with a loud cackle, eyeing my fox who pauses with one paw in the air. Almost imperceptibly slow, my familiar turns his furry head towards Ezra, focusing his attention on the man in front of him.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that my kitsune perfectly understood his words.

A sharp gasp escapes me as I frown at the image my familiar projects, something I hurriedly flit away as I motion for him to join my side.

"You will most certainly not take a shit on Ezra's bed!"

My voice rings loud and the fox has the audacity to roll his vibrant green eyes before skulking somewhere behind me, making himself comfortable.

Rui lets out a sharp bark of laughter, enjoying the way Ezra seems completely caught off guard before he reminds her of a little fact.

"Don't forget we share a bed."

That ceases Rui's laughter immediately and she shares a sorry look to the fox who's out of my peripheral line of sight.

Dinner goes much more less dramatic but I find myself much too preoccupied with the thought of someone's absence. Even though I am quite partial to desserts, I end up excusing myself just as our main courses plates are cleared away.

I'm nearly out the hall's door when a hand grasps the crook of my elbow. Turning back, I find Asha smiling at me with a secret in her warm eyes.

"Be quick. The King and Queen would like to discuss certain matters with you in an hour or so."

I open my mouth to question what she means but she beats me to it.

"Check the back garden. The abandoned one you entered through when you first stepped foot into the castle," The woman doesn't give me much chance to say anything else as she winks and side steps me, already gone before I can properly process her words.

That settles it.

I'm going to find that man and confront him!

—————-

AN: Hi everyone! Yes a very late chapter but I'm halfway done with my exams. The next update will hopefully be much quicker and won't take as long. I'm keen to get onto the next chapter!

Question: What book trope do you love to read but would hate for it to happen in real life with you?

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